Microsoft project 2013 baseline tutorial free

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Set a baseline for your project in Project to take a snapshot of your schedule that includes information about tasks, resources, and assignments. Learn about adding tasks to a baseline in Microsoft Project through this online video. Essential Training · Start my 1-month free trial. Learn how to set a baseline in your Microsoft Project schedule and compare plan vs. actual. Download Free PDF MS Project About the Tutorial MS Project, the project management software program by 49 View Baseline on Gantt Chart. Learn how to set a baseline in MS Project. Also, you will discover other – easier and simpler – ways to work with baselines in the Gantt.❿
 
 

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Create or update a baseline or an interim plan in Project desktop

 

But MS Project calculates it as 4 days. So one needs to be careful when choosing the start date of the task. Because for any successive operation, MS Project considers that Task 6 will take 4 days. The next time, you change the start date, the Finish date changes to reflect this 4-day duration. Elapsed Duration Elapsed Duration is the time that elapses while some event is occurring which does not require any resources. Elapsed duration for a task can be used in instances where a task will go on round-the-clock without any stoppage.

A normal workday has 8 hours, and an elapsed day duration will have 24 hours. The task also continues over non-working holidays and vacations and working days.

So 1ew is seven hour days. And it takes 4 days for this to happen. It does not need a resource or a work effort, and all you are doing is waiting for it to dry. You can use 4ed as the time duration, which signifies 4 elapsed days, the paint can dry regardless of whether it is a weekend or if it falls on a holiday. Here in this example, the drying occurs over 24 hours over the weekend. They are used as major progress points to manage project success and stakeholder expectations.

They are primarily used for review, inputs and budgets. Mathematically, a milestone is a task of zero duration.

And they can be put where there is a logical conclusion of a phase of work, or at deadlines imposed by the project plan. There are two ways you can insert a milestone. You can see the milestone appear with a rhombus symbol in the Gantt Chart View on the right. MS Project converts it to a Milestone. But one can also convert a task of non-zero duration into a Milestone.

This is rarely used and causes confusion. Double-click a particular Task name. Task Information dialog box opens. Create Summary Task There can be a huge number of tasks in a project schedule, it is therefore a good idea to have a bunch of related tasks rolled up into a Summary Task to help you organize the plan in a better way. It helps you organize your plan into phases. In MS Project , you can have several number of sub-tasks under any higher level task.

These higher level tasks are called Summary Task. At an even higher level, they are called Phases. Remember because summary task is not a separate task entity but a phase of the project with several sub-tasks in it, the duration of the summary task is from the start of the first sub-task to the finish of the last sub-task. This will be automatically calculated by MS Project. Of course, you can enter a manual duration of the summary task as well which could be different from the automatically calculated duration.

MS Project will keep track of both but this can cause significant confusion. In most cases, you should ensure that there is no manually entered duration for any task you will be using as a Summary Task.

If you would like to group Task 4 and Task 5 into a Summary Task 1. You can do it in two ways. Method 1 Select the names of Task 4 and Task 5.

Rename it to Summary Task 1. Method 2 You can click Task 4 row. You can rename the Task. Here it is renamed as Summary Task 1. Now select Task 4 and Task 5. For example, Task 2 can start once Task 1 has finished. These dependencies are called Links. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK Guide does not define the term dependency, but refers to it as a logical relationship, which in turn is defined as a dependency between two activities, or between an activity and a milestone.

In MS Project, the first task is called a predecessor because it precedes tasks that depend on it. The following task is called the successor because it succeeds, or follows tasks on which it is dependent. Any task can be a predecessor for one or more successor tasks. Likewise, any task can be a successor to one or more predecessor tasks. There are only four types of task dependencies, here we present them with examples. Most used. One does not have to finish collecting survey response before starting the tabulation.

Least used. Method 1 Select the two tasks you want to link. In the following screenshot taken as an example, we have selected names, Task 1 and Task 2. Task 1 and Task 2 are linked with a Finish-to-Start relationship. A drop down box appears with all Tasks defined in the project. Choose the predecessor task. Click OK. Here I have chosen Task 3. All tasks get linked.

To select non-adjacent tasks, hold down Ctrl key and select each task separately. Respect Links If you are in Manually Scheduled mode, any change in duration of the predecessor task will not reflect on Start date of Task 4.

Scheduling is controlled in two ways. Manual Scheduling: This is done to quickly capture some details without actually scheduling the tasks. It calculates values such as task durations, start dates, and finish dates automatically. It takes into accounts all constraints, links and calendars.

For example, at Lucerne Publishing, the new book launch plan has been reviewed by the resources who will carry out the work and by other project stakeholders. Although you expect the plan to change somewhat as you learn more about the book launch, you now have enough confidence in the overall plan to switch from manual to automatic task scheduling. Converting Task to Automatic Schedule We have three different methods to convert a task to automatic schedule.

Method 1 If you want to change the mode for a particular task, say Task 5 in the following example. Click on Task Mode cell in the same row.

Then, click the down arrow to open a dropdown box, you can select Auto Scheduled. Method 3 To switch completely to Auto Schedule mode: Toggle the scheduling mode of the plan by clicking the New Tasks status bar at the bottom-left and then selecting Auto scheduling mode.

Go to File tab and click Options. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything except labor required for the completion of a project task. Optimum Resource Scheduling is the key to successful project management. Travel expenses, food expenses, etc.

For example, paint being used while painting a wall. Note: Be aware of the crucial difference between People and Equipment resources. People resources will have limited work hours, say 6, 8 or 12 hours. Equipment resources have different working capacities of 2, 8 or 24 hours and could have maintenance breaks as well.

Also note, that it is possible multiple people resources might be using one equipment resource, or one equipment might be accomplishing multiple tasks. Enter Work Resource Names You can enter resource names according to your convenience. Click the cell directly below the Resource Name heading column. Enter Resources as an individual person, job function or group.

The resource is available full-time on each workday. If a resource does not represent an individual person but a job function, where a group of people with the same skill set can work on the task, we can enter larger Max Units to represent the number of people in the group.

Click the Max. Units field for the Engineers resource. Press Enter. Units would mean you expect the resource capacity to be lower than a full-time resource. Click the cell directly below Resource Name heading column. Enter Resource as an individual or job function. You can also enter overtime rates for work resources. Standard rates are calculated on per hour basis.

Costs per use on the other hand are costs that do not vary with task. Cost per use is a set fee used up to complete a task. There are three types of resources: work, material, and cost. Like paint being used while painting a wall. People resources will have limited work hours say 6, 8 or 12 hours. Equipment resources can have different working capacities of 2, 8 or 24 hours and could have maintenance breaks as well.

Also note that it is possible multiple people resources might be using one equipment resource, or one equipment might be accomplishing multiple tasks. Cost resources do not use pay rates. Remember cost per use and cost resources are two different things. Cost resources are financial cost associated with a task, like travel expenses, food expenses, etc. The cost value of cost resource is only assigned when you assign cost resource to a task.

MS Project will not automatically apply overtime calculations. Click the cell directly below Resource Name heading column to create Resources. Click the Std. Rate field for each resource to costs in hourly default , daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rates. In the following example, the resource Rasmus is left at zero.

Click the Ovt. Rate field to enter overtime rates. Double-click the Resource, a Resource Information dialog box opens.

Click on Notes tab. Hovering over it will make the note appear. Set Up Cost Resources You can use a cost resource to represent a financial cost associated with a task in a plan. Examples of cost resources are travel, food, entertainment and training. So it is obvious that cost resources do no work on a task and do not affect scheduling of a task. Cost value of the cost resource is entered when assigning it to a task.

Click the empty cell in the Resource Name column. Type Training and press the Tab Key. In the Type field, click the down arrow to select Cost. MS Project — Assign Resources to Task MS Project Once the task and resource list are complete, resources need to be assigned to tasks in order to work on them. With MS Project you can track task progress, resource and tasks costs.

Click the box below the Resource Name column for the task you need the resource to be assigned. From the dropdown, choose the resource name. In the following screenshot as an example. You can also select multiple resources to work on a single task. Now click the Assign button. Double-click the Task Name. Setting Up Project Files 2. Setting Up Project Files Creating and saving projects. Creating a project from a template. Creating a project from an Excel workbook.

Setting up calendars. Defining working and nonworking time. Setting basic options. Creating Tasks 3. Creating Tasks Understanding manual and auto scheduling. Creating a manual task. Creating an autoscheduled task. Switching between manual and automatic scheduling. Creating a milestone task. Creating a recurring task. Copying tasks from another program. Creating a summary task. Displaying summary tasks. Organizing tasks in a task list.

Working with work breakdown structure WBS codes. Linking and Timing Tasks 4. Linking and Timing Tasks Linking tasks. Adding lag or lead time. Setting task date constraints. Viewing tasks and task links. Creating Resources 5. Creating Resources Understanding resources.

Creating a work resource. Creating a material resource. Setting up costs for work and material resources. Creating a cost resource. Assigning Tasks to Resources 6. Assigning Tasks to Resources Understanding duration, work, and units.

Assigning resources to tasks. Using Team Planner to assign resources. Finding overallocations. Assigning resources with effort-driven and non-effort-driven scheduling. Modifying resource assignments. Because the baseline provides the reference points against which you compare actual project progress, the baseline should include your best estimates for task duration, start and finish dates, costs, and other project variables that you want to monitor.

The baseline may also represent a contractual obligation for the project. Baseline information that consistently differs from current data may indicate that your original plan is no longer accurate, possibly because the scope needs review or because the nature of the project has changed. If project stakeholders agree that the difference warrants it, you can modify or rework the baseline at any time during the project.

You may find that setting multiple baselines is especially useful for long projects or for projects in which the baseline is rendered irrelevant by significant changes to scheduled tasks or costs. An interim plan, on the other hand, is a set of current project data that you save after the project begins and that you can compare against the baseline to assess project progress.

An interim plan saves only two kinds of information:. You can set up to 10 interim plans for a project. If you need to keep records of extensive project data during the planning phase, it is a good idea to set multiple baselines instead of using interim plans. For example, you may want to set a baseline at each major planning milestone. Then, if you need to save only task start dates and finish dates after the project begins, you can set multiple interim plans.

For example, you may want to set an interim plan on a monthly or quarterly basis. If you are setting a baseline for specific tasks, select the tasks, including subtasks and summary tasks, that you want to include in your baseline plan. If you are setting a baseline for the entire project, skip this step. To select nonadjacent tasks, hold down CTRL, and then click each task that you want. You can select up to 10 tasks at one time. Click the Project tab. To set the baseline for only the tasks that you selected in the Gantt Chart view, click Selected tasks.

To all summary tasks Select this check box if you want updated baseline data for the selected tasks to be rolled up to the corresponding summary tasks. Otherwise, baseline data for summary tasks may not accurately reflect subtask baseline data. From subtasks into selected summary task s Select this check box if you want baseline data for selected summary tasks to be updated to reflect both deletions of subtasks and added tasks for which you previously saved baseline values.

Note: If you selected both subtasks and their summary tasks, select both check boxes. In the Copy box, click the start and finish or baseline values that you want to save. The current start and finish, and baseline values are not numbered. In the Into box, click the name of the interim plan into which you want to copy the values. Interim plans are stored in the start and finish fields.

Note: If you select one baseline in the Copy box and another baseline in the Into box, you will save a baseline, rather than an interim plan. All baseline data will be copied. If you select a baseline in the Copy box, and a start and finish interim plan in the Into box, only the start date and finish date from the baseline will be copied to the interim plan.

Click Entire project or Selected tasks to save the portion of the schedule that you want. If changes to your initial plan occur after you set a baseline or an interim plan, you can update the saved data. Tip: If changes to your plan occur while your project is underway, you may find it helpful to save a second set of baseline or interim data, rather than updating your existing saved data.

In the Task Name field, select the tasks, including subtasks and summary tasks, that have baseline or interim data that you want to update.

If you are updating baseline or interim data for the entire project, skip this step. If you are updating a baseline, click Set baseline , and then select the baseline that you want to update. If you are updating an interim plan, click Set interim plan.

In the Copy list, select the data that you are copying. In the Into list, click the interim plan that you want to update. To update the baseline or interim data for the entire project, click Entire Project.

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